Communications

In order for me to fulfill your request and provide estimated costs ahead of time, I will need to know the time period (or duration) you have in mind. So, for example, issued from January 1, 2010 - November 1, 2010?

Pursuant to the state Freedom of Information Act, G.L.M. c.4, €7, clause 26th, I hereby request the following records:

A list of all parking permits issued between Jan. 1 - Nov. 1 2010 to city employees, officials and others that fall outside the standard residential parking stickers, visitor cards and special permits listed on the city's Web site.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I realize I received your check in January. So although the weather has been formidable, in the future, I will attempt to be more responsive.

Upon further inquiry, the records you are seeking do not currently exist in our software system in a manner that allows me to obtain them without including hundreds of other, unrelated records. Because of this, the public records law does not require this office to create a record in response to your request. I apologize for the confusion, and therefore, will return your check.

That being said, I'd like to fully explain, in detail, why I cannot fulfill your request as requested. Because of the manner in which we input permits into our system, I am unable to segregate the data you requested (permits falling "outside of the permits posted on the city's website") from other everyday permits we issue. What I mean is, the information you requested is coded in our system with a specific symbol because they were issued at "no charge." Unfortunately, there are also hundreds of other permits issued by this office everyday that are coded in exactly the same manner -- for example, temporary permits for new resident, medical, funeral, military, BOA, and then, of course, permits to teachers, firefighters, police, city hall employees, nurses, annex employees, recreation, school dept., etc.

So in summary, I am unable to segregate the data you seek from other, unrelated data for everyday residents. What I could show you is a print out of all permits issued at no charge, but because there are so many records, even I am unable to tell the difference between a new resident and a new intern at city hall. If you would like, I can send you a screen shot of the report that is generated as an example of why the records request cannot be fulfilled.

Please be assured that I have taken the necessary steps to prevent this from happening again in the future. As you know, I am fairly new to this Dept. So going forward the information you requested will now be coded separately, should you or anyone else make a similar request in the future.

If there is any other information you seek or if you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience. I am also always available by phone at 617.625.6600 ext 7910.